Love or Lose
by tulzdavampslayer
Summary: Currently being rewritten. New versions of chapters 1 to 6 are up! Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy have been close friends for years. Can their love save the Wizarding World?
1. Beginnings

Love or Lose

Prologue- Beginnings

Author's notes: Love or Lose was originally posted here some time ago and left unfinished. I started writing it in 2003. I have now rewritten it so it's slightly more Canon (e.g.- Ginny's name is now Ginevra, not Virginia, etc) but I won't be using the 5th book onwards at all, unless I change my mind yet again…

Disclaimer: Nothing involving Harry Potter belongs to me, and I make no financial profit from this fanfiction.

Summary: Draco/Ginny, with a dash of anything else I feel like at the time. A warning to my readers: I use a lot of time jumps early on, and most of the plot later on will be told through flashbacks. If you have problems keeping up, let me know. I hate putting little FLASHBACK notes or things, but I'll try and make it obvious. Usually I'll put a break and Italics at any point where time is no longer linear. Enjoy! - Tulzdavampslayer

* * *

Ginevra Molly Weasley sat underneath the Sorting Hat and set her jaw tightly. She was sure that if the Hat didn't make its choice soon, she would drop dead on the spot. Her heart was beating so quickly...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

A squeal escaped her small lips as she jumped up and dashed to the Gryffindor table, all the time looking around for Harry Potter. He and her brother Ron weren't sitting anywhere at the table. A lump settled in her throat, and she was suddenly afraid for her brother and the boy who made her head spin like nothing else in the world. But then congratulating hands were thrust into her own, and she found herself in the midst of the celebrations.

As they ate the feast that had magically appeared at their table, Ginny's eyes scanned the other tables, wondering where the two boys could be. As her glance passed over the Slytherin table, a blonde second-year boy caught her eye. He was someone she had met in Diagon Alley, and heard a lot more about beforehand: Draco Malfoy.

He was staring at her, the look in his eyes filled with proud disdain. But there was something else there too. Something akin to… could it be amusement? Like there was some great joke that nobody but him understood. They studied each other for a long moment, a silent challenge passing through the air, until he turned away almost condescendingly, ignoring her angry brown eyes to laugh with two boys who could only be his two cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

Ginny snorted in contempt for the boy she knew was destined to be the cruelest in the school, and reached for the roast potatoes.

It wasn't until much later that she remembered her fear for Harry Potter.

* * *

_Stupid little Git. Just like her brothers. Searching for her darling Potter. Where __are Weasley and Potter, anyway? Oh why am I wasting my time thinking about those stupid Gryffindors…_

_I wish she'd stop looking at me like that. Who does she think she is?_

* * *

After all exams were cancelled that year (all because of her) Ginny often found herself wandering the halls of Hogwarts alone. At first Harry, Ron and Hermione had tried to keep her company, making sure that she was really all right. But after a while, they had drifted away. Her sullen attitude hadn't helped much perhaps, but she still felt an agonising guilt for what had happened with the Chamber of Secrets. She could barely be in the same room as Hermione, a constant reminder of what she had unwittingly done. And Harry, although he tried to be considerate and friendly, just came off as condescending. In that week, Ginny learnt a little about her feelings for Harry. The crush began to be slightly more bearable. Only slightly. She could think a little clearer with him around now. But it was one of those things that Ginny could tell was going to stick around for a long time...

"Watch where you're going, Weasley!"

Ginny looked up in surprise. She was about to apologize to the boy she'd almost crashed into, but when she saw who the voice belonged to, she thought better of it.

"Why should I, Malfoy? You worried that I might sic a Basilisk on you or something?" For some reason, she felt very brave right then. After what she'd been through that year, a little bully like Malfoy didn't really seem all that threatening.

Crabbe and Goyle, standing behind their leader as always, glanced behind themselves nervously, half expecting to see a sixty-foot snake slithering down the hall.

"Ha!" Draco laughed at the little girl. "You? Don't be daft, everyone knows it was Voldemort who was really controlling it. You were just a pawn in his scheme."

Ginny flinched slightly when Draco said you-know-who's name, and Crabbe and Goyle looked around again, both sweating visibly. She noticed however that Malfoy seemed uncomfortable saying the name aloud. Maybe... just maybe… A plot began to unfurl in her quick mind and a smirk spread across her face.

"What're you grinning at, girl?" Draco suddenly felt rather unnerved by this tiny girl who had the courage to stand up to him. None of the first years ever rebelled against his intimidation. Of course, the girl was a Weasley, and they were renowned for their lack of common sense. He snarled at her.

"Ooh, is that all you have left in you there Malfoy? Wow. I've heard so much about your power to frighten us first years. Almost as bad as Voldemort." That time she detected a definite flinch.

"I guess it was a little over-rated…" Ginny felt very proud of herself. She wasn't going to let this puffed-up monster run her into the ground. After all, she'd seen much more terrifying monsters than a spoilt brat from an overly rich family.

Malfoy pulled out his wand. "I'm warning you Weasley. Get out of my way and stay out of it."

Ginny bowed deeply and very formally, but she did not move to the side. "Find another way, Malfoy. I'm standing here now. You can stand here later if you really want to. I'll probably get bored in an hour or two."

"Move girl, or I will be forced to -"

But Ginny's wand was suddenly in her hand, raised threateningly and pointed directly at his nose.

Malfoy was in a compromising spot and he knew it. If he were caught using magic on a younger student again, he'd be out on detention in the Forbidden Forest. And he never wanted to go in there again without a particularly good reason. "You forget yourself, Weasley," he tried carefully. "I'm older than you, and I know a lot more about dueling than you do."

"But you forget who I am," Ginny smiled innocently, "and who my friends are. I watch them very closely, and I know every spell they have learnt, and more besides. You don't share your mind and your soul with the Dark Lord and not learn anything from it." That technically was a lie, but she did know a couple of curses that Hermione had taught her for self-defense. But Malfoy didn't know that, and he wasn't going to find out, if everything went to plan.

Draco's jaw tightened. "Crabbe, Goyle…" he started before realizing that the boys no longer stood behind him. Their fleeing footsteps could be heard thumping away from the tense pair glaring each other down. He carefully stepped backwards, wanting desperately to curse the stupid little girl, but knowing that if he even moved his wand hand an inch he'd have an elephant trunk or something very similar instantaneously.

"Fine. You win this one Weasley. But don't expect me to be lenient with you next time. You better watch your back, because one of these days…"

"You'll what?"

"I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been born." His confidence began to return, and he smirked wickedly at her. Their eyes held as he backed down the hall. Ginny's mouth twitched angrily, but her wand arm did not waver. And it did not lower till Malfoy had slowly turned and returned the way he had come.

Ginny breathed deeply and leaned against the wall.

"Too late," she whispered.

* * *

Coming shortly, Chapter I - _Something borrowed_

featuring romantic advice from potions masters, dresses, and hugs by sunsets.

"_You've still got love?"_

_Draco stared at the floor._

_"Don't let go of that. If you don't have that love, you have a very good chance of losing everything. And so do we all." And with that mysterious final comment, the Professor stood shakily and made his way to the door._


	2. Something Borrowed

_Harry Potter: Love or Lose_

_A Draco/Ginny fanfiction by Tulzdavampslayer_

_Disclaimer: nope, don't own the books yet. Ok so I have copies. But I don't have the rights. I'd like them though._

Chapter I - Something Borrowed

Summary: So far Ginny and Draco have had the obligatory run-into-each-other-and-threaten-for-a-while scene. Not much really. And a quick reminder, as it is going to become pretty obvious pretty darn quickly, that this is pre-OotP.

* * *

When Ginny Weasley returned to Hogwarts for her sixth year she was wearing a Prefect's badge and held the confidence of many Gryffindors and more besides in the younger grades. She had shot up over the summer, and now almost towered over many of the other girls. Her long red hair, usually pulled back tight in a firm plait, was today worn free and flowed out behind her in the blustering wind as she travelled across the grounds. The look in her eyes, if you were brave (or lucky) enough to stare into them, was one of determination. She knew something was changing in the air, and while the rest of the world was going crazy searching for Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Ginny would be searching for the strength to lead in herself and in others. She would also be searching everybody for signs of sympathy for The Dark Lord's 'cause'. She did not want a repeat of last year's massacre… 

Ginny shook her head to rid herself of the memories creeping up to engulf her. She didn't want to think of the terrible things Lucius Malfoy had done in his insane rampage throughout the school. Too many innocent students had lost their lives that day. Hogwarts may be the safest place in the Wizarding world, but it was still vulnerable. Ginny refused to be afraid of what could happen to her on her quest to protect the remaining students. She refused to be afraid of anything and she had no need to be, not with Head Boy Draco Malfoy by her side…

* * *

"I don't understand, Malfoy. How come -" 

"Well you never were one to understand were you, Crabbe? I want you and Pansy to leave me alone for a while. Maybe all year. It's just not a good idea for us to be around each other anymore. Go find somebody else to follow around for a while. I hear Blaise is available. The three of you would get on very well, I should think."

"But there's nobody else…" Vincent looked down at his shoes, attempting to hide the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Go make some new friends then. Don't you understand, you idiot? You see me as something I'm not, something I haven't been for a very long time. I have things I need to do, and I can't do them with you around. Now get lost."

Draco Malfoy was seething with fury, a position most boys on their first day of their last year at school, especially as Head Boy, would not normally be in. But Draco was not a normal boy. And his current predicament was rather unusual. He watched Crabbe's eyes fill with sudden tears, and continued to watch him with stormy eyes until the crying boy had left the common room. Crabbe had already lost his best friend the previous year, and now he had lost his idol. Draco pitied the boy, but he knew he couldn't risk having Crabbe and Parkinson hanging around. They were too close emotionally to their parents, and Draco didn't want any information being accidentally passed on. He turned back to his scrutiny of the view from the window of his private chambers; feeling like a small part of his life that had been slipping away for some time had finally died.

He didn't cry. He never cried. His father had taught him well in that respect. Gin had once told him that he should be able to cry; that crying was good for the system. He didn't want to think about tears.

* * *

_"Ginny!"_

_Ginny spun quickly, her wand in her hand, to see Draco standing there, gasping for air._

_"You shouldn't run so much. You're just not a runner, Draco."_

_He smirked at her. "Well my broomstick is gone now, isn't it? What else am I going to do?"_

_Ginny had almost forgotten that all the student's brooms had been taken that week to aid with the resistance. Quidditch was a thing of the past, much to the chagrin of Draco: the Seeker for Slytherin House._

_"I need to talk to you," Draco said once he caught his breath. Ginny sat down on the grass to listen. When Draco needed to talk, it had to be important. He didn't talk a lot. He hardly talked at all, really, about anything real. He usually just listened to Ginny, or rambled on about some harmless topic or other._

_"A letter came this morning. My mother's disappeared. Nobody seems to know where she is, not even my father."_

_Ginny gasped. "What happened?"_

_"Nobody knows. But everybody seems to think she's dead. That's probably true. I wouldn't be surprised if my father did it too."_

_Her friend's seeming acceptance of his mother's apparent death shocked Ginny. "Are you all right, Draco?" For the first time, she found herself seriously concerned about him._

_"I'll be fine. It was bound to happen one of these days. I wasn't bowled over by it or anything. But…" his seemingly calm exterior faltered for a moment. "…I didn't think it'd hurt this much."_

_"Draco..." Ginny reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, but drew back at the last moment. "It's okay to cry sometimes, you know. Nobody will think any less of you. And anyway, nobody's here but us. Your _reputation_ wouldn't be ruined or anything."_

_Draco looked at her for a moment. Why couldn't she _see_? He didn't need to cry. The only thing he needed was… But she would never let him get close enough. And the apparent fear of his touch that she still carried gave him more pain than his mother's death…_

* * *

Draco sighed loudly. That had been only a little over a year ago. And nothing had really changed that much between the two of them in all that time. One day he would tell her how it was that he felt… One day. That day, of course, was not today. Today was the day every sixth and seventh year student prepared the grounds for a new onslaught of tiny boys and girls wanting to learn how to use magic, wanting to be able to protect themselves, their families and their friends. He had only learnt such a short time ago what that felt like. 

When the door to Draco's private chambers opened, Draco was surprised to see his mentor and Head of House, Professor Severus Snape, standing there. Well, perhaps standing was the wrong word. Leaning was maybe better suited. When the Professor had lost his leg defending a group of Muggle-Borns from Death Eaters in Draco's fifth year at Hogwarts, Draco's views of the world had severely changed along with a few other things inside of him.

"Hi Professor. Do you need a hand?"

The tall serious teacher shook his head and slowly made his way to the closest chair. The way he leant heavily on his staff still slightly disturbed Draco. It was a reminder of the man's humanity and mortality, two things Draco had never associated with such a strong character.

"Malfoy… I wished to speak to you. You have gone through something that no person, young or old, should have to go through. You witnessed your father's insanity closer than any of us. You lost a lot that day, perhaps more than any of the rest of us. You really should be bouncing off these walls, screaming and yelling. But you'd rather stand there and stare out that window. …What _are_ you looking at out there, by the way?"

Draco blushed and tore his eyes from the beautiful red-haired prefect issuing orders to her fellow students: a born leader. He came and sat in a chair opposite his teacher.

"Professor, I don't scream because I don't need to. And I do yell. Sometimes. If I do, I just put a silence charm on the room I'm in so I don't disturb anybody. I _am_ fine, Professor. Maybe not completely, but enough to keep functioning as a human. And I haven't lost everything. I've still got…" He felt his face flush slightly as he realized he had almost told Snape of his feelings for his one true friend who could never be more.

"You've still got love?"

Draco stared at the floor.

"Don't let go of that. If you don't have that love, you have a very good chance of losing everything. And so do we all." And with that mysterious final comment, the Professor stood shakily and made his way to the door.

"Professor!" Draco called out to him, not taking his eyes from the floor. "…Thank you."

Snape looked at the boy on whose shoulders the fate of the entire world could all too soon be resting.

_Why him?_ he thought to himself. _He's too young yet…_

* * *

"_Come to the Yule Ball with me?"_

_Ginny had not been prepared for that. "What?"_

_Draco shrugged, attempting to appear as nonchalant as possible. "It's fine if you don't want to. I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding a girl who does. I just thought it could give us a chance to get to know each other better. Since we're friends now and all. Besides, it might take your mind off…" His voice trailed off as he realized he shouldn't have opened his big mouth._

_"It might take my mind off my father?" Ginny's face had hardened. But after sizing him up for a moment, she smiled gently. "Why not? But just as friends, mind you."_

_Draco managed a snort. "What else? I don't think of you as anything else, Weasley." It was the hardest lie he'd ever had to tell._

_"I, uh, don't have anything to wear though, and I can't get something from Hogsmeade anymore." Ginny blushed. The dress robes she had worn to the previous Yule Ball had belonged to a cousin, and had long since been returned. She couldn't ask her mother or any of her friends for help, as she would have had to admit whom she was going with. Passes out to Hogsmeade had been cancelled after a Death Eater was caught stalking a Muggle-born third year two months ago._

_"Come down to the Dungeons tomorrow night at 10. I might have something that would suit."_

_Ginny never thought to ask why he would have girls' clothes lying about. But she never thought to ask him a lot of questions that perhaps she should have._

_The next night Ginny 'borrowed' Harry's invisibility cloak and sneaked out of the Gryffindor Tower. She still didn't want her brother or his friends to know about her growing friendship with their 'mortal enemy'. She knew Ron would probably challenge Draco to a duel or something equally silly and get himself injured, and that would be the end of it. Well, she was fourteen now and quite old enough to make decisions of her own. …Most of the time._

_When she got to the Dungeons containing Slytherin House, she saw Draco leaning casually against the wall. Well, at first it looked as if it was casual. But the invisibility cloak gave Ginny the wonderfully useful ability to come right up to Draco without him knowing about it. So she did. His eyes were open, fixed on the corridor that she had just come from. His brow was knotted, and his lips were tight. Ginny realized with slight surprise that Draco Malfoy was biting his lip. Draco Malfoy was nervous. Yet another thing she had noticed that year in the strangely changed Malfoy._

_She quietly headed back down around the corner, slid the cloak over her head, hid it carefully in a niche in the wall and quickly headed towards Draco. He stood up straight; his arms still folded across his broad chest._

_"You're late, Weasley."_

_Ginny frowned, hands on her hips. "You know I really wish you wouldn't call me that. I have a name. Learn it."_

_He smirked. "Well excuse me Miss Ginevra. I'll try not to offend you again. Tonight, at least." He sneered wickedly at her, and for some reason she couldn't quite fathom, Ginny's heart skipped a beat._

_"Come on in, I'll get you the dress."_

_The success of the previous year's Yule Ball with Durmstrang and Beauxbaton had sparked the idea with Dumbledore to repeat the morale-improving event every year, especially after the tragedy of the recent battle in London. The battle where Professor Snape lost his leg. The battle in which Ginny's father had been killed._

_The Slytherin Common Room was empty when Draco brought Ginny into it; the first Gryffindor welcomed into the Slytherin Dungeons in the entire history of Hogwarts. Draco knew this, and the faint smile playing on his lips betrayed his thoughts to the girl at his side._

_"Look Malfoy, I don't want to be here any more than you want me in here. I'm not really in the mood for sanctity breaking or whatever. Do you have something to show me or not?"_

_"Impatient aren't we, Miss Ginevra?"_

_"Stop calling me that. Just call me Ginny like everybody else."_

_Draco looked at her for a moment. "All right… Ginny." Saying her nickname to her face like that, he had to use a great deal of self-control not to grab her and kiss her… He quickly turned away and picked up a beautiful green satin dress from the table._

_"I don't know if it'll fit you or anything," he lied. He had magically created the dress that morning to always fit her exactly. After watching her for months without daring to touch her, he knew every curve of her body off by heart, even underneath her baggy second-hand robes._

_Ginny gasped. "Where did you get this?"_

_"It used to be my mother's." It wasn't that much of a lie really. His mother had taught him the spell after all._

_"Your mother's too tall for this!"_

_Draco shrugged. "She wasn't always. This was her favourite dress when she was at Hogwarts. She lent it to me last year, Just in case I find somebody who…" he coughed lightly. "Well. I just hope it fits."_

_She held it up against herself. "Thank you Draco," she smiled. "I'm sure it will." And then she hugged him. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. Ginny wasn't wearing a perfume, but somehow she smelled just like wildflowers. He slid his arms around her waist, holding her tight against him. He would have stayed like that forever if she had let him, but she slipped deftly out of his embrace. She smiled at him once more, but this new smile seemed less comfortable, less friendly than the first smile. It was almost as if she was suddenly… not afraid of him… but not quite so comfortable around him anymore. With that smile Draco felt a part of him fall away, and his attitude became colder and more like the old Draco._

_"You should leave. Take the dress with you. If it doesn't fit, just… give it back to me if you want. Otherwise I will see you around."_

_And Ginny fled._

* * *

Ginny sat by the lake, the darkening sky above her starting to show pinpoints of stars. She wondered why that particular memory had come back to her. She remembered that Yule Ball of course. It was the first time anybody had seen the two of them together. Everybody had jumped to the wrong conclusion of course. They always did. And nobody had been happy about it. Except perhaps Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, and altogether possibly Snape. But they had just been happy that Ginny wasn't completely and utterly focusing on her father's murder… 

"Boo," a quiet voice whispered in her ear. Ginny jumped, and Draco laughed.

"Jumpy miss," he said fondly, dumping himself down beside her on the grass. "It never ceases to amuse me how easily you can be startled."

"Yes, well, I wish you wouldn't. I was thinking about something and you pulled me quite suddenly from my thoughts. You _know _how I feel about being disturbed."

Draco laughed again. "You're always _disturbed_, Gin. What were you thinking about?"

She blushed. "Nothing." For some reason, she didn't really want Draco knowing she was thinking about their past. It wasn't all Chocolate Frogs after all. Quite a bit had actually been a lot more like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans… There'd been the amazingly good times, the times where one or the other was in mortal danger and the other was sick with worry, there were the uncomfortable times, and of course there had been those two weeks after _that_ Yule Ball…

"Hah! Nobody blushes over nothing, especially you." But he didn't push the matter. He'd quickly learned over the past few years that you didn't push Ginny Weasley. She pushed back twice as strong. It was one of the things he had come to love about her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sky grow darker and lights inside Hogwarts appear. Ginny leant her head on Draco's shoulder, and a moment later he placed his arm lightly around her. The two of them would often sit out by the lake watching sunsets or sunrises, students playing or students studying, sometimes even students… well. Their friendship had reached that level of closeness where you could lie in each other's laps without thought of anything more. At least that was how it was for Ginny.

Draco could hardly keep himself from pulling her into a passionate embrace and kissing her for hours. But somehow he managed to keep control. He had been taught self-control all his life, to hide his true emotions and only show the person you wanted them to see. But then, his father had taught him these things. And look where it had gotten _him_. Draco tried not to think of Azkaban and the Dementors too much, but sometimes it was the only thing in his mind.

As he sat there by the lake with the love of his life in his arms, Draco Malfoy wondered (and not for the first time) what Ginny would do if he kissed her.

* * *

Coming soon, chapter II - Pain 

Featuring the forging of the friendship

_The look of pain and fury on Ginny's face didn't seem to Draco to be worth whatever glory his father could offer him. He didn't like the pain he could see there, and he didn't want hundreds more to feel the exact same thing._


	3. Pain

Love or Lose

A Draco/Ginny fanfiction by Tulzdavampslayer

Chapter II - Pain

Disclaimer: Not mine. Ms Rowling's. No profit being made, other than the giddy feeling I get from reviews and the satisfaction of finishing a chapter properly.

Summary: Ginny's a sixth year prefect, Draco's Head Boy and head over heels in love with her, Snape's lost a leg. It's also been revealed that Draco and Ginny had a secret friendship before revealing it at the Yule Ball two years ago, and Arthur Weasley has been murdered.

Just a quick note, this entire chapter is a flashback, but it won't be in Italics like previous flashbacks have been, because all things considered, you're all rather intelligent human beings. As far as I know. If there are any non-humans out there reading this, I apologise for my speciesist comment.

* * *

"I'm terribly sorry children. Nobody thought it would turn out the way it did. But you should know that he died very bravely." Professor Dumbledore attempted to console the four Weasley students. Fred and George looked as if they had gone catatonic, while Ron's fists were clutched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Ginny's eyes were filling with tears, and her lip trembled.

"If there is anything at all that we can do, please don't be afraid to come and speak with me. I am available for you at any time. But for now, I realise that whatever I say is unlikely to help you. I will leave you in Professor McGonagall's care. …Minerva?" He called out to the tight-lipped teacher standing by the window, her handkerchief held to her face.

* * *

Ginny stormed down the corridors towards the Slytherin Dungeons, murder in her eyes. She knew what she had to do. She would revenge her father's death on the son of his killer.

Draco stepped out of the Common Room, Crabbe and Goyle following as usual. As he turned to walk towards the Great Hall, he crashed straight into the furious girl.

"Watch where you're – hey!" His usual response was blasted away from him, along with his wand. Crabbe and Goyle took one terrified look at Ginny before fleeing.

"What's your problem, Weasley? What've I done to you recently?" Draco, now sprawled on the floor, his robes askew, tried to crawl backwards to his wand without Ginny noticing.

"What's my problem? My problem? You… You… You DARE ask what you've done? Your father! Your bloody father! He… he… Wingardium Leviosa!"

And with that, Draco's wand floated in the air and made its new home on the ceiling high above their heads. Draco's eyes were now filled with apprehension. He knew of course what happened. Everybody knew. Mr. Weasley had made front cover news. He, along with several other witches and wizards as well as several Hogwarts teachers, had been caught in a desperate battle to rescue a group of Muggle-born wizards two days ago from a very large group of Death Eaters, the largest number seen even in Voldemort's time. Mr. Weasley had been the only casualty on his side. Over thirty Death Eaters had been killed. Unfortunately, none had been captured, and the rest had escaped. Professor Snape, to Draco's great surprise, had been fighting alongside Mr. Weasley when he was killed. The Professor himself had lost a leg to the same Death Eater who killed Ginny's father. Ever since he had read the article in the Daily Prophet, Draco had been thinking about a very decision he was going to have to make eventually, as he knew the identity of that Death Eater. Apparently, so did Ginny.

"I didn't know! I didn't know he was going to…" Well, technically, Draco had always known that his father was a Death Eater. He had also always known that he was destined to eventually follow in his father's footsteps. That no longer appeared to be such an attractive option. The look of pain and fury on Ginny's face didn't seem to Draco to be worth whatever glory his father could offer him. He didn't like the pain he could see there, and he didn't want hundreds more to feel the exact same thing.

Ginny, tears still pouring down her face, raised her wand. "I don't care what you knew. You're a Malfoy, and from now on, I hate the lot of you! If I ever see anybody with the name, I will _kill_ them. Do you hear me? I'll kill you for what your family has done!" She began to speak a horrible curse, one that would set the frightened boy in front of her on fire from the inside and work its way through his body, but the words stuck in her throat. All that came out were sobs. She tried again, but her hand was shaking so badly that she dropped her wand to the floor.

Draco was now too shocked at what Ginny had been prepared to do to him to even try and grab at the fallen wand. Ginny dropped to her knees and started beating at his chest with her bare hands, tears staining his robes. All Draco could was take her hands gently and hold them apart. She tried to kick him, but from her position all that happened was that she tripped further, and Draco was almost holding her up. He looked into her eyes, and for the first time, truly saw her. She was being torn apart by this tragedy, but somehow she was beautiful through all of her tears. Draco, in all of his fifteen years, had never thought of anybody as beautiful before.

Ginny, now unable to hurt her would-be victim, fell apart. She leant against Draco, weeping. All he could do was hold her, his arms carefully enfolding her, unsure what he was supposed to do.

* * *

"So are we friends now?"

Ginny laughed out loud. How strange it felt, to be friends with a Malfoy. To be friends with a boy who, only a week ago, she had been prepared to disembowel. "I suppose so."

Draco smiled. It wasn't his usual smug smirk. For the first time, he really smiled.

* * *

Chapter III - When you Believe: coming to a computer screen near you

_"He… he's killing them! They're dead, all of them! You've gotta run, he's coming… wait… You're his… he might not…" and with that the boy started babbling and Draco let him go._


	4. When You Believe

Love or Lose

A Draco/Ginny Fanfiction by Tulzdavampslayer

Chapter 3 - When you Believe

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. But I'm going to shamelessly abuse the characters anyway.

Summary: It has been revealed that Lucius Malfoy killed Arthur Weasley and that, strangely enough, is what sparked Draco and Ginny's friendship.

Author's notes: An apology that a lot of this stuff hasn't really been rewritten plot-wise very much. Really all I've done is fix some inconsistencies and grammatical anomalies. I've probably missed a couple of dozen, so if you pick up on something please let me know via review/PM/email!

* * *

School had already been in session for almost a month, but Ginny had hardly noticed the time fly by. Her teachers found that her usual attention was lost, her mind somewhere else that had nothing to do with studies. Some of the students seemed to think that she was daydreaming about a certain Head Boy, but anybody caught saying that aloud near Ron, Harry or Hermione, were immediately squashed. In fact, Ginny's mind was on much more serious matters. She watched her teachers and students carefully. She read the Daily Prophet like a Muggle Bible. She hoarded supplies and was often found reading books on deadly curses and their respective counter-curses. When she wasn't doing that, she was patrolling the corridors and grounds, often with Draco at her side.

But unbeknownst to Ginny, Draco wasn't watching for danger as much as he was watching her. He watched her brow narrow when they found anything out of place. He listened to her ramblings of safety restrictions they could put in place. He agreed with her in almost everything. But he also watched her back. He more than anyone else knew the danger that could altogether possibly lie waiting for her around the corner at any time.

* * *

_Draco ran from the dungeons towards the screams. He had no idea what was happening, but he had to see if Ginny was safe. As he ran, he passed several students running in the opposite direction. He grabbed one, a fifth year Gryffindor with a camera hanging from his neck, and tried to find out what the hell was happening in their school._

_"He… He's killing them! They're dead, all of them! You've got to run, he's coming… wait… You're his… he might not..." and with that the boy started babbling and Draco let him go._

_He almost crashed into Professor Sprout a moment later._

_"Mister Malfoy, head to your dormitory immediately. It's not safe out here. Somebody is killing every student he sees," and then she was gone, running towards the Great Hall. But Draco knew, from the direction the Gryff kid had come from, that the killer was not there. He headed at a sprint towards the Gryffindor Tower, fear for Ginny building inside of him._

_When he finally got there, he saw that the painting that was the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room had been ripped apart. The screams were louder now, so much louder. Draco pulled out his wand and quickly jumped through the portrait hole._

_He heard a voice upstairs._

_"Where is Potter?" it roared. "Where is the Boy who Lived?"_

_Draco knew that voice all too well. His heart jumped into his throat a moment later when he heard who Lucius Malfoy was demanding answers from._

_"I don't know! Harry isn't here. Now stay back, I'm warning you!" Ginny Weasley's voice, while sounding confident to a stranger, had an all too worrying tremble to it in Draco's mind. He knew that he only had a moment before his crazed father… He leaped up the stairs three at a time in a desperate attempt to get to his friend. He practically fell into the chamber as Lucius Malfoy raised his wand._

_Draco, knowing he didn't have enough time to disarm his father with a spell, barreled into him and knocked the man to the ground. He nimbly picked himself up and ran to Ginny._

_"Are you all right?" His eyes quickly passed over her, making sure that she was uninjured, before turning back to his father, who was at that moment pushing himself from the ground, his eyes aflame with insanity._

_"That was a stupid thing to do, boy," he snarled. "Something you will pay dearly for…"_

_Draco realized he had dropped his wand when he had hit his father. There was nothing he could do to save himself. He covered Ginny's body with his own, hoping to protect her from his father's madness. He looked into her eyes for the last time, thinking to tell her finally of his feelings. But the words did not come. They simply stared into each other's eyes, both knowing that they would die._

_"Expelliarmus!"_

_Lucius Malfoy's wand flew out of his hand, and he turned to the doorway to see who had disarmed him._

_"You!" His lips curled in rage. "Get away from me, traitor."_

_Severus Snape calmly and slowly limped towards the man. "I don't think you really want to kill your son, Malfoy. Not today at least."_

_Draco slowly stood up, staring as the teacher coolly cast the spell that would pull Lucius Malfoy into unconsciousness._

_Snape shook his head. "Lucius, what have you done…"_

_Hardly a moment later, Professor Dumbledore entered the room, Harry Potter at his heels._

_"Severus, you got here in time!" Dumbledore exclaimed, but then fell to his knees as he looked around the room. Draco was dumbfounded by his headmaster's show of weakness before he too looked around him. He had not noticed before that the entire of the fifth year girls' bedroom was destroyed. The beds were burnt to a cinder, and every girl was dead. Every girl except the one by his side._

_The severity of his father's crime hit his mind, and Draco instinctively knew that this was not the only room in the school filled with corpses._

_"If I had been only a moment later…" Draco hugged Ginny tightly, realizing how close he had come to losing her forever._

* * *

That event had been the most terrible in all of Wizarding history. To attack children was so unforgivable that many wizards and witches called for Lucius Malfoy's death. However, he was sent to Azkaban, and now resided in the smallest, darkest cell in the prison, destined to live out his days in total solitude until the day he attempted to escape. That would be the day the Ministry would gladly agree to give the man the Dementor's Kiss. Draco never found out what had brought on his father's madness. But every fifth year girl in Gryffindor but Ginny had been slaughtered, along with many other students who had just been in his way. Draco's friend Goyle, who had let Lucius into the school, had been the first to die.

Ginny never forgave herself for not being able to save her friends, but Draco was only happy that she had survived. From that day on, he hardly let her out of her sight.

Eventually Ginny realized that Draco was being over-protective of her. When he wasn't with her, he was watching her, and in between classes she would often find him waiting already outside her classroom to walk with her through the school. She wondered how he got out of classes so quickly, but never actually got around to asking him. She didn't really mind though. It was nice having a friend there.

* * *

That Halloween, Dumbledore threw a ball for all students in their fifth, sixth or seventh years. The rest of the school all had excessively large parties in their Common Rooms. Balls and parties were happening much more often as of late. It was, of course, the best way to increase morale now that Quidditch and trips to Hogsmeade had been cancelled until further notice.

Ginny, as always, went with Draco, wearing the same dress as always. She had her suspicions about the dress Draco had given her two years ago. She had grown quite a bit since then, but still the dress always seemed to fit perfectly. But she loved it anyway. She especially loved the way every male student's eyes popped out of their heads when they saw her. Well, everyone except Draco. He sometimes looked a bit smug at her side, but never surprised. It had surprised Ginny at first how well green suited her. The satin reached all the way down to the floor, and although its sleeves covered a small portion of her hands, it left her shoulders bare and showed off her slender neck. For the Halloween Ball, Ginny wore her hair loose, which made her look a little like a Dryad all dressed in green. Although she no longer vied for Harry's attention, it was always enjoyable to see him start a little when he saw in her green dress. Hermione, however, frowned a tiny bit whenever she saw Harry's reaction. Ginny had her own private thoughts on the reason for that, but she didn't say them out loud.

"May I have this dance?"

Ginny was startled out of her thoughts. "Sorry Draco. I was just thinking."

Draco smiled. "You're always 'just thinking'. Relax for a while and come dance with me." He held out a hand for her to take. Ginny didn't actually think that dancing with Draco and relaxing came hand-in-hand. Lately she had felt something in her stomach twist when she was too close to him, and the dizzy feeling she got near him irritated her beyond belief. But she took his hand all the same.

Every student had their eyes on them, watching for a sign of something more than friendship. Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy were the 'talk of the town', so to speak. Everybody had their own private theories about the two of them, many of them including the fact that each of them had their own private room; Draco because of his position as Head Boy, and Ginny because… well, nobody really liked to talk about the 'incident' much. The other reason they all watched breathless was because the two of them were the tallest and best looking students in the school, and really, what else was there to look at?

As the music changed to a slower, much more romantic pace, Ginny suggested that they go get some punch and poke fun of the couples as they normally did, but Draco, with a dark look in his eyes, pulled her back to him. He didn't say anything, he just held her close, a little too close for Ginny's liking, and swayed slightly in time to the beat. His fingers on one hand linked with hers, and his other hand settled light but firm on her lower back. Ginny's heart started beating faster and she found she had begun to hold her breath. She rested her head gently on his shoulder and just let it happen.

Draco breathed in her wildflower scent. All of his worries left him and he felt absolutely calm. He was so close to Ginny he could feel her heart beating. He smiled as he noted its speed.

Ginny's head started spinning. She mentally told herself off for it. She shouldn't be feeling quite so attracted to him, she shouldn't… Draco was her friend… only her friend… but it all felt so right… She sighed with contentment.

Draco pulled his head back when he heard her sigh, not sure what it meant. When he saw the look in her eyes his heart leapt from his chest. She cared. He could see it. Testing her, he lowered his face slightly towards her. Ginny raised hers a fraction, brown eyes staring into gray. And the next thing either of them knew, their lips were pressed against each other's. Their kiss went on for some minutes, becoming more desperate and passionate at each passing moment. Ginny had her arms tight around Draco's neck, not allowing him to ever get away. Draco entangled his fingers in her long hair, not wanting to ever stop. All the tension that had been building was suddenly released all at the one moment, and neither really had control over their own actions.

Eventually, they returned to reality and heard the giggles and whispers surrounding them. They pulled slightly away from each other, and opened their eyes. The other students, as well as several teachers, had all stopped dancing, and were now all watching them, grins plastered across their faces. Ginny coughed, embarrassed, and they both turned very interesting shades of red, before slowly and very steadily leaving the Great Hall arm in arm.

As they turned the corner, Draco grabbed Ginny around the waist and pulled him to her, their bodies touching in all sorts of places that drove him almost mad.

"Did you mean it?" Draco wasn't quite sure how to interpret their kiss. Was it something she would take back the next day, blaming Seamus' spiked punch, or did his angel truly feel the same way he did?

Ginny beamed up at him. "What do you think?" And she kissed him again.

* * *

AN – sigh. Every time I edit this chapter I get all goosebumpy. It's not particularly exciting or anything, I... maybe I'm just happy for them. ah well.

EDIT – I wrote that Author's note four years ago, and it's still true. How utterly glorious.

Coming Chapter IV - If Everything Falls Apart Now

Possibly the most irritating chapter in the story...

_"Ginevra Molly Weasley, what do you think you are doing?"_

_Ginny gulped in panic as she stared down at her breakfast. The Howler, floating in midair at her table, continued spilling abuse._


	5. If Everything Falls Apart Now

Love or Lose 

A Draco/Ginny Fanfiction by Tulzdavampslayer

Chapter IV - If Everything Falls Apart Now 

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the rights to the Harry Potter 'verse. I am simply borrowing it for funsies.

Summary –we're back in time now so it doesn't matter what's happened… This chapter is set after the _second_ Yule ball; the one that Draco originally gave her the dress for. It is **entirely** a flashback!

* * *

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, what do you think you are doing?" 

Ginny gulped in panic as she stared down at her breakfast. The Howler, floating in midair at her table, continued spilling abuse.

"What's got into you? Did you really think that nobody would mind you suddenly being friends with this boy? Draco Malfoy is a menace and a bully. His family is known for their treachery, and you decided to get it into your head that he is 'not that bad really'. For Merlin's sake, you're hardly fourteen; you're letting your mind be clouded by a pretty face and a little charisma! Ron told me all about the Christmas Ball! How could you take that dress, how could you walk in on his arm… how could you? After what Lucius Malfoy did to your… Now you break off your friendship with that bastard's son or your family will never speak to you again!"

And then the envelope fell lifeless to the table.

Every student who was still at the school for the Christmas holidays set to laughing except a certain few. Harry and Hermione looked nervously at each other, wondering what Ginny would do. Ron and the twins Fred and George frowned and ignored everybody else. Every now and again, they would throw an angry glance Malfoy's way. Neville's eyes were downcast in an attempt to hide the disappointment and sense of betrayal overflowing from them. Draco didn't stick around long enough to get a letter of his own. He knew his father would send him something along those lines himself. 'Gryffindors, Weasleys, beneath you, blah blah blah…' He silently stood up and left the Great Hall.

He didn't really get all that far. He was sure nobody would be following him, so he just stopped around the corner a little bit and leant against the wall, frowning. If he was right, which he tended to be, he had seen the beginning of a tear in Ginny's eye. If all he was going to be able to do for her was make her cry all the time, he didn't want to be anywhere near her. It would hurt him, he knew. But it was better for her. Ginny deserved better. Ginny deserved a friend who would make her laugh. Somebody who would never make her cry. Somebody like Potter. He hated to admit it, but Scarface would take care of her…

* * *

At that he went off to the lake to think. It was the one place he knew he could clear his head. Nobody was ever there, and he could just be Draco. Not Malfoy; not the pretentious git he'd had to be for years. Just Draco; a fifteen-year-old boy falling very hard for a girl he could never be with.

Ginny ran through the school, looking in all the usual places. She knew Draco wouldn't have gone back to the Slytherin Common Room. Too many Slytherins wanted to have "words" with him at the moment: mostly words about her. She was about to give up entirely when she passed a window and happened to glance outside. Outside sitting by the lake was Draco.

* * *

He had just about made up his mind too. He would just tell her to go away. Act like he had always acted. Become Malfoy again, and let Draco die once and for all. All he had to do was figure out exactly how.

"Draco, what are you doing out here?"

His shoulders tightened for a moment. He wasn't ready for this. He couldn't do it. He couldn't just brush her off like he would Crabbe or Goyle, or even Pansy, Millicent or Blaise. This was Ginny.

"I..." he felt his throat constrict. "I was just thinking about a few things. A few… mistakes I've made recently."

Ginny's heart dropped into her shoes. There was none of the boy she had been friends with for the past month or so in that voice. "What… kind of mistakes…" She was suddenly terrified of hearing the answer.

He shrugged indifferently. "I think I might have led you on a bit really. Sorry Weasley, but did you really think I could change all that much?" He didn't look at her. He knew that the moment he did, the entire façade would fall away, and he could never let her go, let alone push her away.

Ginny, whose eyes were filling with tears, managed to stutter out a few words. "I thought you were my friend…"

"Well you'd be wrong, little Weasel. I was just trying to piss off your brother and the rest of the Potty crew." He hadn't thought it would be so easy, it was such a fickle excuse…

"You… you…" Ginny felt her anger building inside of her. She'd thought Draco was her friend. She'd thought she could trust him. And he'd compromised her relationships with everybody she cared about to pull his little prank.

Her wand hand moved towards her pocket before she even realised that it was. By the time her mind rose from its haze the wand was in her hand and pointed at Draco's face; which was still turned away from her. Ginny contemplated using a hex on him. He wouldn't be able to stop her, and there was nobody around to see. But she… she just couldn't. She still thought of the traitorous boy as a friend, no matter how much of a fiend he truly was.

So she ran away instead, crying all the way.

But Ginny Weasley's tears were nothing compared to the tears that had been pouring down the face of the blonde boy sitting by the lake, and which continued to fall for hours and far into the night.

* * *

Coming as soon as possible: chapter 5 – Dream of Me

_"tee hee hee, now the ickle ferret is an ickle slimy ferret! Slimy ferret, slimy ferret…" and Peeves flew down the hall, singing his new little song feeling very proud of himself. But right before he flew through the wall, he turned back and grinned mischievously back at Draco. "Ickle slimy ferretty crybaby! You two make a good match! Ickle slimy crying ferrets and weasels!" And with that he danced away through the wall._


	6. Dream of Me

Love or Lose

A Draco/Ginny Fanfiction by Tulzdavampslayer

Chapter V – Dream of me

Disclaimer – nope. Not mine. No profit. For funsies.

Summary – Draco and Ginny are friends. More than that, they appear to be about to become lovers. They've had their ups and downs, but neither can compare to what's coming… ahem. Apologies. Went a bit trailer there, didn't I…

* * *

If Ginny had thought her family had reacted irrationally over her friendship with Malfoy, she had been wrong. Their reactions to that, which had included several howlers as well as a few rather problematic hexes pointed his way, had been tame and unassuming compared to their reaction en masse to the news that she not only was being snogged senselessly several times a day by their ancestral enemy, but she was snogging him back quite willingly.

Ron had an apoplectic fit, and had several rather serious bouts of hyperventilation which ended in him being carried forcibly to Madam Pomphrey a number of times.

Fred and George visited the school, and attempted to kidnap Draco so they could put a Truth Hex on him and discover his "true motives". Luckily Ginny got word of their dastardly plot before they could go through with it, and decided to hide Draco in her room for the two days the twins planned to search the castle, which pleased Draco. Still, he found the whole situation beyond funny, and spent the entire time laughing. Ginny didn't think it was quite so hilarious, as she knew her brothers, and what they tended to do when they were angry…

* * *

_"MALFOY!"_

_Draco cringed and continued to walk quickly down the corridor, before being gruffly grabbed by the shoulder and spun around to face two very identical, and very angry, redheaded seventeen year old boys._

_"Gin's been crying again," Fred (or was it George?) said irritably, his voice almost an octave lower than normal._

_"And what exactly does _that_ have to do with _me_?" Draco asked stubbornly. Inside he was kicking himself. It was altogether possible that he had made things worse for her by pushing her away. If only he could get his hands on a Time Turner…_

_George (or possibly Fred) grabbed Draco by both his shoulders and forcibly shook him. "She trusted you, you stupid git! How could you be so… so… after what she had to go through in her first year… Do you even _know_ how hard it was to pull down those walls she put up after what You-Know-Who put her through?"_

_"You know, he just goes by Voldemort these days, Weasley…"_

_"SHUT UP!" the twins both yelled in unison, and pulled back their fists…_

* * *

Ginny frowned as she remembered. She hadn't visited him in the hospital wing the entire time he was there, although it had only been a couple of days. She'd thought about it… but in the end she had decided it would have been better to stay away.

"Stop it, I want to read my mail," she said jokingly to the boy sitting behind her on her bed with his arms around her waist, and his mouth on her ear. He had an unhealthy obsession with her ears, Ginny had decided, and if he continued to nibble on them all the time like that, she might have to lock him in the closet just to get any work down.

Draco lightly blew in her ear, sending little shivers up and down her spine, and laid his head on her shoulders. "But you have such nice little ears," he said in his defense. Ginny turned her head and quickly placed a kiss on his nose before turning back to the pile of letters in front of her.

_Ginevra,_

_I'm sure you and Draco like each other very much, but are you entirely sure you're doing the right thing here?_

_You know what a beast he used to be to you and Ron._

Draco snorted. "I can still be a beast sometimes," he whispered suggestively and waggled his eyebrows at her. Ginny proceeded to push him away from her, and he rolled over onto his back and looked up at her smiling in a way Ginny imagined he thought was innocent.

_Maybe you're right and he has changed, but do be careful what you're getting yourself into. You don't want to enter into a relationship where you feel obligated to take it further than you are comfortable with._

The letter continued along that path for another half a page or so, but Ginny decided against reading that part out loud. "Guess who this is from?"

Draco smirked. "don't need to guess, I read it over your shoulder."

Ginny threw Percy's letter at him, and picked up the next.

_Gin,_

_You're our sis and we love you, but what in Merlin's name are you doing, snogging that Malfoy boy?_

Ginny blushed. "Bill and Charlie have gotten together and co-written a letter."

"I noticed."

She quickly looked over the rest of the letter. "It's about us of course."  
"I noticed that as well."

"I'm not entirely comfortable reading it aloud."

"I noticed that too," and he grabbed the letter from her hands and continued reading it aloud in a ridiculous voice.

_We mean, he's a Malfoy!_

_His father killed our dad, and tried to kill you too! And think of all those other kids who died at his hands!_

_Plus, Malfoy Jr _("that's the first time anybody's ever called me that, and it better be the last") _was always a horrid little beast to all of you. _("again with the beast.")

_Alright, the trust is gone! We no longer trust you to think straight!_

_This Christmas you're coming home, and we're going to sort this matter out ourselves!_

("Oh really? Well I don't want you to go home this christmas. I want you to stay here… with me…" "Ssh you.")

_We should warn you, Fred and George are coming to kidnap him today._

("Well we already knew that.")

_Anyway, love you,_

_Bill and Charlie._

"You have a very strange family," Draco remarked.

"You noticed."

"You've still got two more letters there."

"You noticed that too, did you?"

"Are you going to read them for me?"

"No."

"No?"

"One of them is from my mother, and I'm not reading that one to you. My mother and I have a very private relationship, one that you need to know nothing about. So too bad for you."

"What about the other one? It's unsigned!" Draco exlaimed as he reached for it.

Ginny grabbed it and hid it behind her back. "No, no I don't think so. You've read enough of my mail today, thank you very much."

Draco smiled at her wickedly. "I love it when you're all flustered," he said huskily as he ran a finger along her jaw. Ginny's eyes narrowed.

"I know what you're trying to do Draco."

"Oh really? And what is that exactly?"  
"You want this letter."

"No, no no, I want this."

And with that he kissed her. The kiss continued for some time, and by the time they pulled away from each other, Draco was lying on top of her in a rather compromising position if anybody entered, the letters all forgotten and lying around them.

"Now, we were saying…" Draco rolled off her and ran one hand down her side to comfortably sit at her hip.

"you know, I can't remember." And this time she kissed him.

When Fred and George burst in five minutes later, the tangle of limbs that was their younger sister and her boyfriend shocked them so much they both just slowly turned and headed right out the door again, covering each other's eyes.

Although the Weasley Twins had left Hogwarts the same day they had arrived without their intended prize, Draco didn't return to his room that night.

As he sat on the sofa in front of the fire, one arm encircling Ginny's sleeping form, he opened the unsigned letter with his teeth.

"Now, let's see who's writing anonymous letters to my little weasel."

_**To tHe gryFFindor whOre,**_

_**HoW dAre you takE him awAy?**_

_**It'S nOt FaIR! I'vE loVed hiM FroM aFAr aLL yeAr, AND yOU comE alonG and Rip him AWAY.**_

_**My friEnd KaTie toLd me He WASn't wortH tHE trouble. MaYbe shE waS rigHT.**_

_**PrEpaRE FoR DeAtH**_

__

Draco read the letter several times, trying to figure out who could have sent such an angry letter. The letters were enchanted to appear aflame, a simple charm taught in first year.

He laughed when he realised. There was only one girl named Katie left in the school now. After the 'incident', many parents removed their students from Hogwarts, thinking it unsafe, although new students still came every year. At the moment, the only Katie was in her second year of being a Hufflepuff.

The anonymous 'flamer' had to have been a 2nd year girl.

It was altogether just too funny.

But Draco knew Ginny wouldn't see it that way, and would probably be worried and altogether possibly angry. So he threw the letter into the fire, and cuddled up closer to his love.

* * *

_"Hello, ickle ferret."_

_Draco moodily frowned up at Peeves, who was floating three feet above him and holding a rather large bucket._

_"Have you been crying, ickle ferret?"_

_"No. I'm fifteen years of age, why would I have been crying?"_

_"Lotsa silly students crying today. Lots and lots… crybabies!"_

_Draco paused for a moment. "Who else was crying?" Although he could guess._

_"Naaaah, not tellin'!"_

_"Peeves, if you don't tell me, I'll go and tell the Bloody Baron who it was who painted his favourite wall blue!"_

_Peeves shuddered. "oooOOOoooh, I'm scared. The ickle ferret is going to tell on Peeeeeves! OooooOOOOOOOoooooh! Run evvybody, the ickle ferret is angry…"_

_"Tell me Peeves, if you know what's good for you. I'm feeling very out of sorts today, and I am not in the mood for your games."_

_Peeves turned the bucket up over Draco's head, pouring green slime all over him._

_"teeheehee, now the ickle ferret is an ickle slimy ferret! Sliiimy ferret, sliiiimy ferret…" and he flew down the hall, singing his new little song feeling very proud of himself. But right before he flew through the wall, he turned back and grinned mischievously back at Draco. "ickle slimy ferretty crybaby! You two make a good match! Ickle slimy crying ferrets and weasels!" and with that he danced away through the wall._

_And Draco was left with the feeling that he had really screwed it up this time._

* * *

_"Did you honestly believe I could change…"_

_…(Ginny remembered Draco saying that. It had broken her heart) Yes. I did. I still do. You changed, Draco. You changed…_

_"Do you mean it?"_

_(Their first kiss…)…What do you think… Of course I meant it… I care about you more than I care about anything…_

_"I'm sorry Ginny."_

_(He had said sorry for the first time in his life the day the two of them finally figured out their friendship problems after that Yule Ball almost two years ago. Ginny remembered it as if it was yesterday.) …I'm sorry too. We both made so many stupid mistakes._

_"But what if I went away?"_

_…(Ginny couldn't remember him ever saying that.) I'd go with you…_

_"No, ginny, don't die, don't die…"_

_(She didn't understand, why was he telling her not to die?)…I'm not dead! I'm right here, I'm here beside you, look, I'm here…_

_"Voldemort will pay. He will pay for what he has done…"_

_(She wanted to hold him, to comfort him, to remove all the rage from his cracking voice) …Of course he will. But we haven't found him yet…_

_"Potter… Weasley… Granger… where are they? Are they gone too?"_

_(Ginny was frightened)…No… They're here somewhere, I'm sure of it…_

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_…Draco no!_

* * *

She sat bolt upright, screaming.

"Draco, no! No!"

Draco grabbed Ginny and tried to calm her, but she didn't seem to recognise his presence.

"Gin, love, I'm right here. I'm right here, it's okay…" he held her close, swaying back and forth. "It was just a dream, love, it was just a dream…"

* * *

Next – Chapter 6 – Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, Kill me.

_"I need to speak with the Headmaster about Ginny Weasley. I think she's having visions of the future. And I don't think she likes them."_


	7. Chapter 7 Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, K...

Love or Lose

Chapter 7 – Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, Kill me

Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter thank the Goddess. But I don't own any of the other characters either. I also don't own the title of this chapter, it's a really good U2 song, listen to it if you haven't.

Summary – Draco loves Ginny, Ginny loves Draco, Ginny's having weird dreams in which she sees what she believes to be the future, I've jumped three weeks forward in time here so yeah, plot development without the pain of writing it! I'm gonna put a couple more memory sequences in here, because, well, I've still got so much to explain… hehe… I'll get there… don't you worry my lambs…

AN – I'm SOOO sorry this took so long! I know that most of you probably got bored and went away, but hey! here we are now! And I'm sorry! Throw socks at me if you like! ^_^' heh…

And now for my thank you's…

****

Nyah – yes I'm sorry it's been confusing lately, but don't worry, sense may in fact enter my brain as well as this story very soon! **Hasapi** – yeah see I tend to do that, leave subtle little tid-bits for the ppl who look… **hahatushkaru** – yes so much for quickly updating… **August** – yeah I know, * awww *s for all my friends! **SCHEm** – thx hehe **Crystal** – yes I think so :P **AtrueSlytherin** – and done! **Bronze_vixen** – cliffhangers 'r us **Excillian** – Wow thanks, and yeah you probably noticed all my reviews for 'Soul Keeper' popping in there! ^_^ **Ruby** – thanks! **CactusKitty** – I probably should stop killing my readers… **Erin** – aww dahls… tankas!

And now… on with the story I guess! Hahahaha! Remember, THREE weeks have passed since the end of chapter 6! Just like the number of months since I updated… Again… I say sorry…

~~~^~~~

Harry looked nervously around the corner. He had been jumpy the past few days, ever since his scar began to hurt again.. It could only mean one thing… that Lord Voldemort was back, somewhere very near to Hogwarts, maybe even in the grounds themselves…

~~~^~~~

Hermione blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

Ron grimaced. "I thought you already knew… I just guessed… with the amount of time you two had been spending together, he would have told you first… seeing you two…"

"Ron, he didn't tell me anything about his scar hurting again! And what do you mean? There's nothing between Harry and me! I mean, yeah, I used to like him, but I haven't in a really long time, all right?" her voice rose several decibels, causing the red-headed boy in front of her to cringe in pain. "I don't see where you get off saying that to me, Ron Weasley! Where do you get the… the gall! As if I could, when I'm so much in…" She threw her hands to her mouth just in time to stop herself.

"What? So much in what? Are you in trouble or something?"

Hermione stormed off, leaving a very confused Weasley behind her, staring after her with longing in his eyes.

~~~^~~~

"Minerva, are you certain?"

"How can I be certain, Severus? I have no proof. All I know is that Harry Potter has been missing several lessons, and when I do see him, he's nervous, scared even. And I think I've seen him clutching his forehead, as if his scar is hurting him again!"

Professor Snape's pace doubled in speed instantly. "We must speak to Dumbledore immediately!"

~~~^~~~

"Gin you've got to eat something…" Draco's brow was furrowed with worry.

Ginny smiled weakly as they sat in the Great Hall. "I can't. I just…" she stared at the food on her plate. "No, I can't…"

"You had another dream last night, didn't you?"

She wouldn't look him in the eye, she couldn't. She _had_ had another dream. The same as all the others. But instead of just wandering in the dark, hearing Draco's voice, she was starting to see dim shapes. But they didn't match up with what he was saying. It was as if she was hearing him say things from the past and some from what appeared to be the future, but watching a scene from a completely different set of events. She couldn't make out anything yet, all she could see were figures moving around, almost as if they were dancing.

"Gin, love, if you don't tell me what you're seeing, I'm just going to worry more…" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I'm terrified of losing you to whatever you're seeing. These past few weeks, you've been distant, you haven't been eating, and Colin says you're not paying any attention at all in class. Please, eat something, you haven't eaten more than a few bites a day since that first dream."

Ginny sunk into his arms. "I can't tell you. Not yet."

~~~^~~~

-FLASHBACK-

__

"I'm sorry, Ginny."

She stopped, mid-storm-away-from-Draco, and turned around slowly. "um, what did you say?"

Draco cringed. "I said I'm sorry. I was stupid. I was just afraid of what might happen to you."

"what might… HAPPEN to me? What about what DID happen to me? I don't care about your reasons, I don't believe you're really sorry at all."

And with that, she continued to storm away, never turning around, and not seeing the anguish the boy behind her was going through.

Draco almost didn't follow her. But something inside of him gave him the courage, or perhaps it was just stubbornness, to chase after her.

"Why won't you listen?"

She didn't stop this time. "Because I have no reason to trust you. As you said, this was just a game to get back at my brother and his friends."

He stopped then. She was right of course. He had said that. But he had no way of making her believe he hadn't meant it. So he just yelled at the top of his lungs instead.

"I LIED!"

That stopped her. Mostly because they were entering a part of the school where there were several students wandering around aimlessly, and they had all turned to stare. She turned to walk back the other way, pushing Draco roughly out of her way, but he grabbed her around the waist from behind instead.

"Draco Malfoy, if you don't let me go this instant, I'm going to scream something that'll get you expelled so fast, you won't even have time to pack!"

"No, no, see, I don't think so. You see, if I let you go, you're going to go away and not listen to me anymore. But if I don't_ let go, you might actually find out _why_ I had to push you away."_

"had to?" she spun around, so she was facing him. They were a little too close for her normal liking, but she wouldn't even realise that until later. Right at that moment, she was too pissed off at him to notice anything. Until she saw the tears in his eyes that he was trying to hide.

"You're… crying…" Ginny faltered. She hadn't been expecting tears.

"Yeah probably. Been doing that a lot lately."

"Why?"

"Because I hurt somebody I never wanted to hurt. I hurt somebody that I care about very much. And for a while there, I thought I'd lost her. And I'm still not sure whether she'll ever forgive me."  
She said nothing for a few minutes. There was really nothing to say. Eventually she found her tongue again. (A/N – and if anybody else is as sick-minded as I am, NO draco didn't help her find it! ;) )

"So… why did you do it? why did you push me away? If you care so much, why did you make me think you didn't?"

"I was afraid."

"Of what? My friendship? Your tainted reputation? Because let me tell you, you've lost all reputation you once had. Well, almost all."

"No…" he wasn't really sure how to tell her, but he managed to stammer it out.

"I was afraid… of my father. Of what he might do to you. Of what would happen to you. My father… is a very dangerous man. He knows things. He can do things. And I was terrified of losing… my first real friend… to him. …so… I'm sorry."

Ginny said nothing. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I forgive you."

-END FLASHBACK-

~~~^~~~

Dumbledore frowned at the boy standing in front of him. "Are you entirely sure?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. Voldemort's the only one who ever made my scar hurt like this, and-" he was interrupted by Professors McGonnagall and Snape bursting into Dumbledore's Office.

"Professor…Dumbledore!" McGonnagall panted. "We think that you-know- oh Harry. You're here. All right then. Never mind."

The two professors turned to leave, and almost ran into another eighteen year old standing there.

"Sorry professors, snuck in after you," Draco grinned. "I need to speak with the Headmaster about Ginny Weasley. I think she's having visions of the future. And I don't think she likes them."

~~~^~~~

TBC

A/N – yeah I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to slip in here. So review and tell me what a bad person I am for not writing more!


	8. Chapter 8 Merry Frelling Christmas

Love or Lose

Chapter 8 – 

Disclaimer – um. Yeah. Not mine. (insert tears here)

Summary – Draco loves Ginny, Ginny loves Draco, and no they actually HAVEN'T slept together yet, well they've slept, but they haven't slept if you know what I mean, I mean they actually did sleep so that makes no sense, and this sentence is way too long! (gasps) Ginny's having weird dreams in which she sees what she believes to be a very ugly future, Harry's been getting headaches, and I'm about to do a time jump! Just a little one, a couple of hours, so Draco's finished with Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonnagall. La di da. I skip plot development and just get straight to …well, the plot. I dunno. It works in my head….

Thank you's – Kalypso5 – thanks! (resuscitates), SamiJo – mwaha, Swimfan –AAAAAH IT'S A SWIMFAN! DON'T KILL ME!, anon – funny how time changes some things, huh…, Ali – tankies, DobbyMania89 – (drawls cowboy style) why thank y'all, liddle lady! Lenne's*Spirit – so you're a bit of an anime fan? Thanks! Darcel – yes. You have. Mwahaha. Unfortunately so have I. (sighs, and gets confused by herself) Ezmerelda – thankies!, Voldie on Varsity Track – w00t! Ana – yeeha! I cried writing some of that stuff too… uh, is that a bad thing… who knows… I definitely don't… and all those reviewers from the past couple of months, it takes too much effort to reply to you, so mwah I love you all.

I know it's been forEVER since I last updated, and hopefully it'll be less than an eternity before the next one! Don't kill me too much! I promise I haven't given up.

~~~^~~~

"Albus, what are we going to do?" Minerva McGonnagall said as she watched Severus pace in circles around the Headmaster's office.

Albus Dumbledore sighed. "I'm not sure exactly what we can do, my friends. It looks to me as if all we can do is… wait."

Snape exploded. "Wait? Wait? We know that the Dark Lord is near Hogwarts, perhaps even on the grounds themselves, and that one of the students is having visions of the future full of pain and death, and all you can think of doing is waiting? I'm sorry Albus, but I won't stand for it!"

The old headmaster watched his potions master storm out, and fell resignedly back into his chair. "Minerva, call the teachers together. Raise the Wards, see if you can put up any more defense spells."

"What about the Yule Ball?"

Dumbledore had forgotten. It was two nights away. "It will go ahead. Call the prefects to me."

~~~^~~~

-DREAM WORLD-

"Did you honestly believe I could change…"

"Did you mean it?"

"I'm sorry Ginny."

"But what if I went away?"

"no, ginny, don't die, don't die…"

I'm… still here… Draco… hold me…

"Voldemort will pay. He will pay for what he has done…"

…He will pay… He will pay… but not in your blood… please…

"Potter… Weasley… Granger… where are they? Are they gone too?"

They will die. My brothers, my friends. I wish it didn't mean what I thought it would.

"Avada Kedavra!"

…Draco don't do it!

~~~^~~~

Ginny woke with a start, to find herself alone. There was a note on the pillow.

Gin, I've gone to see Dumbledore. ~D.

Ginny fell back against the soft bed. "It won't make any difference…"

~~~^~~~

-ok, it's been a whole… few sections, so here's a FLASHBACK-

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"

"No I'm serious, Ginny. Because if you're not… I don't want to pressure you into something you're not ready for yet. I can wait."

Ginny grinned mischievously. "Well, I can't."

-END FLASHBACK-

~~~^~~~

(A/N – ok ok ok so I changed my mind about the sex thing… my bad. Now, I better get back to the story before you all kill me. I'm going to finally maybe have some plot development... actually no, can't be bothered, mwahaha.)

It was the night before the Yule Ball, and Ginny could barely stand, no mind protect the school from the expected attack. She sat in front of the fire in Draco's arms, holding perhaps a little too tightly to him. But she couldn't help it. She just had this... feeling. A feeling of total loss. She was so afraid she was going to lose him in the unavoidable confrontation with Voldemort's forces.

The possibility of an impending attack on the school was a complete secret, so naturally, everybody knew. The prefects had been summoned to Dumbledore's office and briefed in almost military fashion. Ginny had almost expected Dumbledore to, once he was aware of the threat, to cancel the Yule Ball, an event that would place every student and every teacher in the one room, easily ambushed if the wards on the school were breached. And they would be. Ginny had foreseen it.

And there would no stopping the second slaughter of innocent children in as many years. The Wizarding world had never gotten over Voldemort's first rain of destruction, all those years ago. And now they would face it again without the one hope they still had: their children.

Ginny clung to Draco, trying to keep his voices out of her head. Trying to keep out the words he had said, the words he would say, the words which would bring him to his own doom. The most unforgivable of curses was, even if used in defence, unforgivable. There could always be another way, they had been taught as much. There should never be a time where killing another was your only way out. Ginny wished she could somehow take Draco away from his own fate.

But, deep inside her, she knew there was no way. Their future was laid out in front of them, and there was no changing it.

~~~^~~~

Draco looked down at the girl in his arms. He couldn't help thinking that this would be the last night they shared together like this, that no matter what happened, their lives would be changed forever. He felt Ginny's nails press into the skin of his arms as she held onto him just that little bit tighter, just that little bit longer.

He knew what she was thinking. She was thinking of her prophetic dreams that she had still not explained to him in full. All she had told him was that something was coming, and when the time came, he had to be prepared to let her go. He still didn't completely understand, but he was terrified of the possible meaning behind her words.

A thought occurred to him.

"But what if I went away?"

Ginny sat bolt upright and squirmed out of his arms, as if his words had burned her skin. "What... What did you say?"

Draco took in her horrified expression. "What if I die tomorrow and not you? What if you've got the whole vision mixed up?"

Ginny burst into tears. Instantly he had his arms around her again, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to scare you, I just... I thought it needed to be said. You still haven't told me what you saw, I'm just working off my own paranoid thoughts."

Ginny sniffed. "I... I didn't see anything."Draco stared at her.

"I... heard things. I heard things you've said in the past, things you'll say in the future. And you just said one of those things to me. I... I heard you telling me not to die. I heard you... I heard you..." and her words were lost among her tears. All Draco could do was hold her, and let her pain run its course. She couldn't tell him, and he couldn't force her to tell him. In many ways, it was better that he didn't know.

"Perhaps..." he started, but he couldn't finish the sentence. He couldn't tell her that perhaps they could change things. That the future wasn't set in stone, and that everything would be alright. That his words of a moment ago were just pure coincidence. That not every prophecy came true.

He wasn't sure if he even believed himself.

~~~^~~~

The hall was full of students, trying their hardest to keep up appearances. They sang, they danced, they drank the punch. The couples tried their hardest to make out, and the friends tried their best to laugh. The teachers tried their best to find reasons to remove points. But nobody really felt like it. Apprehension and anticipation filled the room. The band wasn't helping. They were possibly the worst group of musicians the Great Hall had ever seen. The fact that the five-piece group all wore masks that covered their entire heads certainly didn't improve matters. Students wondered why their professors and prefects weren't worried about the threat the five musicians (if you could call them that) were. They also couldn't understand why the drummer would beat the life out of his drums every time Draco held Ginny's hand protectively, or why the off-key singer kept grinning at the newest couple to join the ranks of more-than-just-friends.

~~~^~~~

-FLASHBACK-

(a/n - guess who? ^_^)

Ron looked up from the open chest as he heard the door open. "Harry, you- Hermione!" He hurried to find a shirt. "You're supposed to knock, you know? I could've been naked! I could've been Seamus!"

Hermione blushed lightly but stood her ground. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"Well, hurry up, Harry'll be back from Dumbledore's office in a minute, and I don't want him getting the wrong idea or anything."

Hermione frowned, hands on hips. "How could he get the wrong impression from two friends having a private discussion?"

Now it was Ron's turn to blush. He knew he was being an idiot. In truth, he couldn't've been gladder to see her, there on what possibly could be the last night either of them lived through. And she looked... just a second... for the first time Ron noticed what Hermione was wearing.

Or rather, what she wasn't.

Hermione smiled as Ron's light blush deepened as he struggled to take in the rather revealing burgundy negligee she wore.

"Harry's not coming back here tonight. Neither are any of the other boys. I pulled in a few favours they owed me. This wasn't exactly what they had in mind when they agreed to give me whatever I asked them for all those essays I wrote for them over the past couple of years, but it doesn't matter. This is what I wanted. I just... I needed to talk to you tonight."

Ron gulped as his own personal fantasy glided over to him and gently ran an elegant finger across his cheek.

"I needed to tell you that I was in love with you. Just in case I don't make it."

Ron gave up trying to keep control of himself at that point. There was nothing he could think to say in response to the words he had been dreaming of her saying to him for so long. For too long. He grabbed the hand that still lingered on his cheek, perhaps a little roughly, but he had been waiting for what seemed an eternity for this chance. Ron entwined his fingers almost possessively among her own, used his other hand to pull her tightly to him, and kissed her, violently, passsionately, almost painfully.

Eventually she pulled herself out of his tight grip, uncertainty showing clearly in her eyes. She stepped backwards towards the door. This was what she had wanted, wasn't it? For him not to say anything, because Ron Weasley could never really find the right words. But maybe such an aggressive response wasn't what she had been truly searching for. And maybe it was all she was going to get. Maybe he didn't love her the way she longed for him. Maybe... her doubts melted away from her as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Hermione. I love you. I've loved you for so long, I can't remember not loving you. And if you leave here tonight, it will be the biggest mistake of your life. So I'm not going to let you."

And he grabbed her again, and kissed her. But this time the kiss was gentler, more lingering, and Hermione's head spun.

And in the end, she was thankful she'd called in those favours.

-END FLASHBACK-

(a/n - rw/hg-er's, dance for the puppet master! the rest of you, just sit back, there's still more to come! yes I am aware this is the longest chapter so far, but it's been a long time coming. A long time.)

~~~^~~~

Neville and Lavender did indeed make a beautiful couple.

~~~^~~~

Shadows moved throughout the school grounds. Whispers whispered as wards were banished. And the words for a spell sounded, a spell that had never been used before and that would make history that night.

~~~^~~~

The magically amplified instruments' sound died.

The candles floating throughout the hall fell to the ground.

The ceiling of the Great Hall turned to stone.

The paintings froze.

Hermione's hair became noticeably more frizzy.

Harry's glasses broke and his scar disappeared.

And Dumbledore fell back into his chair, a look of total terror plastered on his aged face. He had not expected such a move from Voldemort. Professor Mcgonnagall turned to him. "Albus, what has happened?"

The hopelessness couldn't help but show in his eyes. "They have taken away the magic. We are defenceless."

~~~^~~~

And the battering ram slammed into the castle gates.

~~~^~~~

Draco grabbed Ginny's hand. "It's starting."

~~~^~~~

"May I have your attention, please?"

Every eye turned, frightened, to the Headmaster.

"We are about to come under attack by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They have placed a curse on the school that no magic can be used. They will most likely come at us with muggle weapons. Please, those of you who are familiar with those weapons, please brief your friends. Find whatever you can to defend yourself. And please, be caref-"

He was interrupted by a thunderous crash. A few students screamed, and many huddled together. The ramming continued every half a minute or so, until the main doors of Hogwarts came falling to the ground.

A moment later, two hundred Death Eaters ran in, brandishing muggle "weapons" ranging from small pistols to microwave ovens, and yelling their war cries.

They were faced with the ten teachers and near five hundred students, standing silently, with their hands behind their backs.

In those hands, some held forks, some held chair legs, and some held entire chairs, but each prefect had a very special gift given to them by Professor Dumbledore two nights ago.

They had swords.

And they were prepared to use them on any that came into their range.

Draco turned to his beautiful girl and took her free hand in his.

~~~^~~~

-FLASHBACK- (a/n - this is an extract from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", any added bits are in brackets, they're all thoughts.)

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all of that!" Said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy. stupid git, thinks he owns the world, just jealous 'cause he didn't get his photo taken

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. just like Potter, takes anything handed his way, I bet all the girls are all over him, him and his stupid scar Ginny went scarlet what business is it of his if I was Harry's girlfriend, bet he's just jealous 'cause no girl would take him

-CHANGE FLASHBACK- (a/n - back to normal stuff, no more extracts)

Malfoy pulled out his wand. "I'm warning you Weasley. Get out of my way and stay out of it."

Ginny bowed deeply and very formally, but she did not move to the side. "Find another way, Malfoy. I'm standing here now. You can stand here later if you really want to."

"Move girl, or I will be forced to -"

But Ginny's wand was suddenly in her hand, raised threateningly and pointed directly as his nose.

-CHANGE FLASHBACK- (a/n - have you figured out what I'm doing here yet?)

"Draco… It's okay to cry sometimes, you know. Nobody will think any less of you. And anyway, nobody's here but us. Your reputation wouldn't be ruined or anything."

Draco looked at her for a moment. Why couldn't she see? He didn't need to cry. The only thing he needed to do was… But she would never let him get close enough. And the apparent fear of his touch that she still carried gave him more pain than his mother's death…

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

As he sat there by the lake with the love of his life in his arms, Draco Malfoy wondered (and not for the first time) what Ginny would do if he kissed her.

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

"So are we friends now?"

Ginny laughed out loud. How strange it felt, to be friends with a Malfoy.

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

"If I had been only a moment later…"

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

As they turned the corner, Draco grabbed her around the waist and pulled him to her, their hips touching in all sorts of places.

"Did you mean it?" He wasn't quite sure how to interpret their kiss.

Ginny beamed up at him. "What do you think?" And she kissed him again.

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

"Gin luv I'm right here, I'm right here, it's okay…" he held her close, swaying back and forth.

-CHANGE FLASHBACK-

"Are you sure about this?"

-END FLASHBACK-

~~~^~~~

He looked into her eyes.

"I love you, Virginia Weasley. And neither of us are going to die, because I plan on marrying you once we're out of this. Right?"

Ginny blinked. Of all the times for him to pick to propose, Draco had picked the moment she couldn't be distracted by something like this.

"Can we maybe talk about this later?" she yelled over the din. The Death Eaters were still massing through the doorway, and none had reached them yet.

Draco grinned and pulled his sword from behind his back. He raised it over his head, and yelled at the top of his voice: "Dumbledore's Army: Attack!"

~~~^~~~

TBC

yes yes I know. Evil. Blablabla waited forever blablabla short chapters blablabla flashbacks waste of space blablabla leave me alone I have writer's block.

Meanwhile, read my other harry potter d/g fic, "the once and future dragon king", much funnier, slightly longer and completely random. review it if you can, I always like the little emails I get from the fanfiction review alert bot.

and a cookie for whoever knows what the title of this chapter comes from!

-tulz


End file.
